


lean on me

by amsves



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Don’t copy to another site, F/M, Fictober 2019, Fluff, Jagged is Not Convinced™, Nathalie is still sick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-26 01:35:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20921999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amsves/pseuds/amsves
Summary: "I know you didn't ask for this--"





	lean on me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).

> Fictober day 4: "I know you didn't ask for this"  
Writing and posting this on the train before my laptop battery dies, excuse any typos or things of that nature please.

Nathalie felt a cough bubbling up in her throat. She tried to stifle it.

She was with Mr. Agreste at some function or another. The cause it supported slipped her mind, but it wasn’t important--Gabriel was there because several people from the board were wearing his designs, and because the Agreste Foundation had pledged an exorbitant amount of money to whichever charity this event benefitted, not because he was any kind of philanthropist. Nathalie would have bet that he didn’t know which cause he was supporting, either.

In any case, they were there, in a ballroom in André’s hotel, mingling with other wealthy donors and powerful people, and Nathalie coughed discreetly into her elbow, hoping it would alleviate the feeling. It didn’t.

Gabriel caught her eye, and he raised an eyebrow. She shook her head, and he went back to pretending to listen to Jagged Stone argue with some other up-and-coming musician about the benefits of plastic versus metal straws.

The subject of the argument did not narrow down the mystery charity, but Nathalie found she didn’t care. She coughed again, a little more forcefully this time. 

“Nathalie, darling, could I get you a glass of water?” That was Jagged Stone, looking thoughtfully in her direction, as though he were concerned for her. She grimaced. She’d not been subtle enough. 

“I’m fine,” she tried to say, but she didn’t manage to complete the second word before dissolving into a coughing fit, the magnitude of which she only ever really got after detransforming. Her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes, but it didn’t matter because all she could see was the floor anyway as she collapsed to the ground. 

Then, there was a pair of hands on her shoulders. “If you don’t mind,” Gabriel said, very close to her ear, “I believe that water would be much appreciated.” To her, he added, “Can you stand? Let’s go sit somewhere out of the way.”

Nathalie nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She let Gabriel do half the work pulling her back up to a standing position, and he had an arm around her waist as they walked together to a pair of seats at the edge of the ballroom. 

Jagged Stone joined them as Nathalie dropped into her seat. “Is she alright?’ he asked, as Gabriel took the glass from his hand.

“She’s fine,” he returned in his signature dismissive style. “She just needs to rest.”

“Are you sure--”

“I am.”

Jagged and Gabriel engaged in what Nathalie could only call a staring contest--each looking into each other’s eyes, unwilling to be the one to back down. 

Finally, someone from the crowd came and called Jagged back to the event to talk to some important person or another. He looked at Nathalie, who looked away.

“I hope you feel better soon, Nat,” he said as he left. “Don’t let Mr. Agreste work you too hard.”

Gabriel said nothing until Jagged Stone was far away. Then, he sat down next to her and handed her the glass of water he was still holding on to. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” she answered, voice still weak and breathy. “I don’t know what came over me, one moment I was fine and the next I was …” she trailed off, unable to describe it.

“Not,” Gabriel finished, and she nodded.

“Not.”

“You usually only have attacks like this after a transformation,” he said quietly, looking around to make sure they were sufficiently secluded. “Did you sneak out again?”

Nathalie shook her head. “I didn’t, I promise.” That was true, but who knew if Gabriel would believe her. She had betrayed his trust before, after all.

He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. “You scare me,” he admitted. “Every time something like this happens, I wonder if it’s the last time.”

Guilt threatened to overwhelm her. “I’m sorry, sir,” she said in a rush, “I know you didn’t ask for this--”

“I’m not upset with you,” he interrupted, cutting her frenzied apologies off. “You are working as hard as I am towards my ultimate goal, maybe even giving more of yourself to it, all in addition to your actual job. I am immensely grateful to have such a trusted assistant and confidante at my site.” 

She must have looked unconvinced, because he placed a reassuring hand on her knee. “I mean it. Now, get some rest, and drink your water. If you require anything else, let me know. If you need to leave early, we will do so.”

She placed a hand atop his. “Thank you, sir. Go enjoy the party.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes, because everyone knows Gabriel Agreste loves making small talk and mingling with the masses.”

She giggled for a moment before catching herself and schooling her face back into her professional mask. “Well, if that’s the case, I won’t keep you from it.”

He gave her a long, unamused look, before tossing her a quick smile as he disappeared into the crowd. She watched him go, a small smile of her own on her face. The space where his hand had been felt cold.

(More than one person in that ballroom had the same thought during that whole exchange: “I was right. There’s definitely something between them.” Of course, they could hardly know the real nature of the relationship between Ms. Sancoeur and Mr. Agreste, but they were right. There was definitely something between them.)

**Author's Note:**

> Find me and request fictober prompts/bingo squares on [Tumblr!](http://www.skeletoncloset.tumblr.com)


End file.
